2017 New England Patriots season
The 2017 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 48th season in the National Football League, the 58th overall and the 18th under head coach Bill Belichick. The New England Patriots entered the season as the defending champions of Super Bowl LI.1 They failed to match their 14-2 record from last season with their Week 14 loss to the Miami Dolphins.2 Despite that, in Week 15, the Patriots secured their 9th consecutive AFC East title, their 15th of the last 17 seasons, with their victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.3 With their win over the Buffalo Bills in week 16, the Patriots obtained their 8th consecutive 12-or-more win season stretching all the way from 2010, an NFLrecord.4 Their Week 17 victory over the New York Jets clinched their top seed in the AFC for the second straight year, thus giving the Patriots home-field advantage throughout the entire AFC playoffs for the second year in a row.5 The Patriots defeated the Tennessee Titans in the Divisional Round 35–14, and the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Championship Game 24–20, claiming their second consecutive AFC title.6 This was their seventh consecutive AFC Championship appearance, adding onto their record from the previous year.7 The win also made Tom Brady the oldest quarterback (40 years, 163 days) to win a playoff game, surpassing Brett Favre for the record.8 It was also the second time they advanced to the Super Bowl two consecutive seasons since 2004. They faced the Philadelphia Eagles in a rematch of Super Bowl XXXIX. This also made the Patriots the only team in NFL history to appear in ten Super Bowls, and gave the Patriots a chance to repeat as Super BowlChampions for the second time in franchise history, and for the first time since 2004. In addition, they had the chance to tie the Pittsburgh Steelers for the record of most Super Bowl wins by a team in NFL history with 6. However, a late strip-sack of Brady by Brandon Graham in Super Bowl LII led to a 41–33 defeat, ending their chance at a sixth Super Bowl title and resulting in their first Super Bowl loss since 2011. The loss prevented the Patriots from repeating their three-Super Bowls-in-four years run that they managed from 2001-2004. 2017 New England Patriots staff Front office * Chairman/CEO – Robert Kraft * President – Jonathan Kraft * General Manager – Bill Belichick * Director of Player Personnel – Nick Caserio * Director of College Scouting – Monti Ossenfort * Director of Pro Personnel – Dave Ziegler * Assistant Director of College Scouting – Brian Smith * Director of Scouting Administration – Nancy Meier * Football Research Director – Ernie Adams * Director of Football/Head Coach Administration – Berj Najarian Head coaches * Head Coach – Bill Belichick Offensive coaches * Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks – Josh McDaniels * Assistant Quarterbacks – Jerry Schuplinski * Running Backs – Ivan Fears * Wide Receivers – Chad O'Shea * Tight Ends – Nick Caley * Offensive Line – Dante Scarnecchia * Offensive Assistant – Cole Popovich * Coaching Assistant – DeMarcus Covington Defensive coaches * Defensive Coordinator – Matt Patricia * Defensive Line – Brendan Daly * Linebackers – Brian Flores * Cornerbacks – Josh Boyer * Safeties – Steve Belichick * Defensive Assistant – Mike Pellegrino * Coaching Assistant – Brian Belichick Special teams coaches * Special Teams – Joe Judge * Assistant Special Teams – Raymond Ventrone Strength and conditioning * Strength and Conditioning – Moses Cabrera * Assistant Strength and Conditioning – James Hardy Roster